Beschreibung:

Lot details Tibet, circa 1100-1250. Superbly cast, seated in vajraparyankasana on a double lotus throne with remarkably thick-beaded rims, the right hand extended in bhumisparsha mudra and the left in dhyana mudra, the fingernails conspicuously inlaid with copper, his left palm and right sole incised with a floral design. Wearing a sanghati gathered on one shoulder, with distinct wavelike folds hidden in the gap between the body and the left arm, the robe gathering in elegant pleats just below his feet and above a vajra finely incised to the base. Provenance: Old Austrian private collection. Condition: Superb condition, commensurate with age. Some wear, casting irregularities, minor dents, few tiny losses, minuscule nicks, light scratches, remnants of ancient pigment and gilding to face, the eyebrows and other areas possibly inlaid with silver wire, which has over the centuries turned completely black and cannot be clearly identified. The base unsealed. Rich, naturally grown patina with an unctuous feel overall, showing signs of extensive worship and caress across the centuries. Weight: 1,249 g Dimensions: Height 26 cm The gilt face is sensitively modeled with a serene expression, the downcast eyes and arched brows seem to be inlaid with metal (possibly silver), the lips with faint remnants of copper inlay, flanked by long pierced pendulous earlobes, the blue hair arranged in tight curls surmounted by a tall ushnisha topped by a bud-shaped jewel. The bronze depicts Shakyamuni Buddha at the very moment of Enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. Touching the goddess, Earth, with his right hand, he called her to witness his imperturbability in front of the assault of the demon Mara. It is with reference to this condition of serene beatitude that Shakyamuni's epiphany was called Akshobhya, meaning ‘Imperturbable’. The episode took place at the Vajrasana seat at Bodh Gaya, which by tradition was specially empowered to expedite his enlightenment. Later, the followers of Buddhist esoteric schools represented the epiphany with their most important emblem, the vajra, which they interpreted as a symbol of the adamantine purity, indestructibility, and perfection of the Buddhist doctrine. In the present bronze, the vajra is incised into the upper surface of the lotus base. This sculpture represents the early phase of Tibetan Buddhist art during the Chidar, the Later Diffusion of Faith, that took inspiration from eleventh and twelfth-century Pala-period sculptural traditions of eastern India. Various elements reflect Indian prototypes, including the tall ushnisha and particularly the base's lower rim, distinctively decorated with a single row of large beads. Meanwhile, the base’s high-relief lotus petals with their characteristically incised design are an early Tibetan feature. This combination of stylistic elements exemplifies Tibetan artists' close apprenticeship of Pala art during and shortly after the Chidar. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related brass figure of Buddha Shakyamuni, dated 13th-14th century, supported on an altar of probably a later date, the base similarly cast with Pala-influenced beaded rims and Tibetan flattened lotus petals, illustrated in the Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum, 60 Buddhist Statues of Tibet, Hong Kong, 1998, pages 160-161, no. 153. This type of base is also seen in three closely related brass figures dated circa 13th century, illustrated by von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Hong Kong, 2001, Volume II, pp. 1173, pls. 313C-E. For the Pala prototype depicting Buddha Vajrasana, dated 11th-12th century, see von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Hong Kong, 2001, Volume I, pp. 269, pl. 86C. Note also the elongated figure, narrow waist and tubular limbs, the distinctive double-tipped petal motif of each bulbous petal on the lotus throne, and the curled double-edges of the sanghati thrown over the proper left shoulder in the figure of Shakyamuni (313D), as well as the g